Responding to a potential Republican proposal to lift the debt ceiling -- for a few weeks -- a White House official said Obama believes "it is better for economic certainty for Congress to take the threat of default off the table for as long as possible."
The White House backs a Senate Democratic effort to raise the debt limit for a year with no "extraneous political strings attached," the official said.
In a statement, the official said Obama "also believes that the Republican Leadership in the House should allow for an up or down vote on the clean continuing resolution passed by the Senate that would pass with a bipartisan majority to reopen the government."
"Once Republicans in Congress act to remove the threat of default and end this harmful government shutdown, the President will be willing to negotiate on a broader budget agreement to create jobs, grow the economy, and put our fiscal house in order," the official said. "While we are willing to look at any proposal Congress puts forward to end these manufactured crises, we will not allow a faction of the Republicans in the House to hold the economy hostage to its extraneous and extreme political demands. Congress needs to pass a clean debt limit increase and a funding bill to reopen the government."
The statement comes as House Republicans are scheduled to meet this afternoon at the White House with Obama.
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